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Trump says US shouldn't intervene in Syria as opposition forces gain ground

WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria amid an insurgent offensive that has reached the suburbs of the capital, declaring in a social media post, "THIS IS NOT OUR
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An image of Syrian President Bashar Assad, riddled with bullets, is seen on the facade of the provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in amid an insurgent offensive that has reached the suburbs of the capital, declaring in a social media post, "THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.鈥

Trump's first extensive comments on the came while he was . He argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad did not deserve U.S. support to stay in power.

Assad is , and the Biden administration, which considers the Syrian rebels leading the offensive to be aligned with terrorist organizations, has suggested that their fast-moving advances toward Damascus demonstrate just how distracted those countries are by the and other conflicts.

The Biden administration also has said it is not backing the offensive and has not suggested the U.S. military will intervene. The U.S. has about 900 troops in the opposition-held northeast of Syria, working with Syrian Kurdish allies to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State extremist group.

Syrian opposition activists and regional officials have nonetheless been watching closely for any indication from both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration on how the U.S. would handle the sudden rebel advances against Assad.

Also Saturday, the United Nations' special envoy for Syria called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an 鈥渙rderly political transition鈥 in Syria.

In his post, Trump said Russia 鈥渋s so tied up in Ukraine鈥 that it 鈥渟eems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years.鈥 He said rebels could possibly force Assad from power.

The president-elect also condemned the overall U.S. handling of what is a 13-year war in Syria, but spoke favorably of the routing of Assad and Russian forces.

鈥淪yria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!鈥 he wrote in Saturday's post.

An influential Syrian opposition activist in Washington, Mouaz Moustafa, interrupted a briefing to reporters to read Trump鈥檚 post and appeared to choke up. He said Trump鈥檚 declaration that the U.S. should stay out of the fight was the best outcome that the the Syrians aligned against Assad could hope for.

Rebels have been freeing political detainees of the Assad government from prisons as they advance across Syria, taking cities. Moustafa pledged to reporters Saturday that opposition forces would be alert for any U.S. detainees among them and do their utmost to protect them.

Moustafa said that includes , an American journalist missing for more than a decade and suspected to be held by Assad.

Ellen Knickmeyer And Will Weissert, The Associated Press

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